Yorktown Stories

Ahoy shipmates!Hope all is well and troubles are few. Just returned from Hawaii, where I wore my white hat again. This time aboard the “Arizona”. Quite moving. May we all enjoy good health. The trip was to celebrate my 75th.I remember so vividly the site of the Arizona when we steamed up the channel in ’68 and anchored across from her. So many memories about that tour. The Pueblo, the cold, Vietnam, the Gulf, sea snakes and all. Liberty in the “PI”, Japan, and Hong Kong. The singing contest in Singapore at the enlisted mens club. ‘Til we meet again, calm seas, peace and the joy of serving with you all.Love,Patrick “Patty”RR710, VAW111, Det 10 ...

The best part of our Association Member group so far has been getting to see everyone interact and tell their stories. Since the group started, Phil Elsner has been such an enthusiastic and highly involved group member. Curious about his story, and what drives his love for the ship, we talked with him about his time in the Navy and on board the USS Yorktown. We asked Phil what made him want to join the U.S. Military, to which he told us that as a kid he had a dream that he was in the Navy. He thinks it may have come from watching the show, “Victory at Sea,” for so many years. Later in life, at the age of 21, it was 1964 and he was walking into Coney Island. There was a big draft going on and looking across the street he saw the enlisting booth for the ...

Many of our members are the legacy of a sailor that served aboard the USS Yorktown. Their children join in patriotism, but more importantly, in honor of their father, grandfather, whatever the case may be. Recently, we have had the privilege of welcoming another generation of USS Yorktown CV-10 Association members. Through our new Facebook Group, we were able to connect with Dawn Henderson. Her father served on the ship in 1963-1966. Dawn was so invested and excited for the opportunity to honor her fathers service. The following are a few words from Dawn herself about growing up, her father’s service, and what made her join the membership for herself and even for her two brothers! We are so thankful that you have joined our association Dawn! FOLLOWING THE LEGACY OF OUR DAD, ROBERT HENDERSON,US NAVY & VIETNAM VETERAN, 1963-1966 Growing up, I don’t remember my Dad talking too much ...

1958-59 Far East Cruise By Terry G. Fritz. Ed’s Note: This is the third part of a multi-part piece written by Terry G. Fritz covering his experiences on the 1958 – 1959 WESTPAC. We went back to Pearl Harbor to get rid of the O.R.I. team and have a little celebration. This was on a Friday. Monday we got underway for the Far East. Yokosuka would be our next stop. On the way there, we had to cross the 180th Meridian or halfway around the world. I think we moved up a day doing this, I can’t remember. All I know is we made many time changes during the cruise, both forward and backward. Approaching Japan, I remember sitting on a port side divot near the metal shop off of Hangar Bay 3. I was just enjoying a smoke; the air was cool and damp and had that normal ocean fragrance ...

By Steven R. Butler When the Yorktown left Norfolk in September 1969, I was on leave from my previous duty station. It wasn’t until I arrived at Norfolk in mid-September that I learned the ship had already departed for a 3-month cruise. After spending a miserable three weeks in the transient barracks in Norfolk and a further (and much more enjoyable) week in London (during which time I met my future wife), I did not join my squadron, VS-24, aboard the Yorktown, until Thursday, 16 October 1969. On Saturday, 18 October, one of the fellows I knew from my week in London, Greg Westphal, asked if I wanted to accompany him and one or two other guys to Amsterdam for the day if I didn’t have duty. As it turned out I didn’t, so off we went. We started out by taking an R.E.T. tram or bus from the pier ...

By Lorena R. Farrar In August 1955, my soon-to-be husband, Ted W. Farrar, was unexpectedly transferred from the Air Traffic Control School at the U. S. Naval Air Station in Olathe, KS (my hometown) to the USS Yorktown CVA-10, which was in dry dock in Bremerton, WA. On arrival, he questioned why he was being sent to an aircraft carrier, and was promptly informed that he had better be a baseball pitcher! It seems they they were involved in the Washington state amateur baseball tournament, and they needed a pitcher! Fortunately, even though he had never pitched baseball anywhere since joining the Navy, he was a pitcher. And so, since they were in the tournament, they would not let him have leave to come marry me; so after the tournament was over, (the Yorktown team took third place), I caught a train out of Kansas City and spent 2 days ...

The following is from “ALL HANDS” of January 1967 and is reprinted with permission from that magazine. Paddle Landings Took Skill For nearly six decades, Navy pilots have progressed through various stages of carrier landings ranging from the seat-of-the-pants methods to the fully automatic landings now becoming operational. (Remember this article was written in 1967.) Antisubmarine Squadron 22 claims for herself (and other units of her air group) the distinction of being the last group of Navy fliers to make paddle landings – a skill which became archaic when USS Lake Champlain (CVS 39), the last of the straight-deck carriers, was decommissioned. The paddle method of landing has played an important role in aviation history, and the squadron’s pride in the skill it required is indeed justified. Paddle landings under the guidance of the Landing Signal Officer – patron saint of all naval aviators – were characteristic of straight-deck carriers ...

By Art Francis This piece is a composition based on information received from Dan Bernath, Steven Butler, Neil O’Connor, Dave Garrison, and the Department of the Navy, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, VA. Wandering through the Hospitality Room and mingling with attendees at the various functions during an annual Reunion of the Yorktown Association is a terrific way to learn unique and little-known facts about the ship. For instance, at a recent Reunion, I happened to overhear a couple of the fellows talking about their mid-60s WestPac when the ship was handling Agent Orange for application by helicopter. Another overheard discussion involved an incident during 1969 while the ship was at sea in the North Atlantic on her last cruise. It never ceases to amaze how a crisis or event of some order can befall one division or part of the ship and it not become common knowledge. More amazing is ...

A story told by Ben Couillard: I remember that when I was 16, 17 and 18 years old, I was serving aboard the USS Yorktown CV10 as a member of the Flight Deck fire crew. We were returning to Pearl Harbor, HI after participating in the invasion of Tarawa and adjacent islands in the Marshalls and Gilberts in the latter part of Dec. 1943. I remember that fire crew members Kirby, Stewart, Williams, Lippencott and I were sitting at the fire station. We were discussing recent events, like the ship’s guns shooting down our first Japanese plane-that was later referred to as the ‘Flaming Kate.’ Or maybe we were discussing the night the USS Liscome Bay plane landed on our flight deck and it jumped the last barrier and crashed into planes that had just landed, resulting in a fire and explosions that left several dead and wounded. We were ...